Congressional
Hearings y

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
APPROPRIATION BILL FOR 1943

HEARINGS

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE

COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEVENTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS

COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

CLARENCE CANNON, Missouri, Chairman

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE APPROPRIATION BILL, 1943

HEARINGS CONDUCTED BY THE SUBCOMMITTEE, MESSRS. LOUIS
C. RABAUT (CHAIRMAN), JOHN H. KERR, BUTLER B. HARE, JOHN
M. HOUSTON, HARRY P. BEAM, VINCENT F. HARRINGTON, ALBERT
E. CARTER, KARL STEFAN, AND ROBERT F. JONES, OF THE COM-
MITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
IN CHARGE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE, JUSTICE AND
COMMERCE APPROPRIATION BILL FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1943,
ON THE DAYS FOLLOWING, NAMELY:

TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 1942.

STATEMENT OF HON. FRANCIS BIDDLE, ATTORNEY GENERAL, ACCOMPANIED BY UGO CARUSI, EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL; THOMAS D. QUINN, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL; S. A. ANDRETTA, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT; AND E. R. BUTTS, GENERAL AGENT

Mr. RABAUT. We have before us this morning the Attorney General and members of his able staff, and we will proceed with the hearings on the appropriation bill for the Department of Justice.

GENERAL STATEMENT

Mr. Attorney General, we are very anxious to have a general statement by you for the record. We recognize the trying times in which you are serving in this eminent position.

Will you proceed with your statement?

Mr. BIDDLE. Mr. Chairman, the Bureau of the Budget has recommended the sum of $80,863,269 for the Department of Justice for the fiscal year 1943, this amount being exclusive of trust funds and public works. This represents an increase of $7,062,169 or approximately 9.56 percent over the appropriation for the present fiscal year.

You will note, however, that increases totaling $7,140,899 are for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the penal and correctional institutions. Therefore, whatever minor increases have been allowed for the Department have been more than offset by decreases in other items. Most of the increase is based on national defense activities, and every care has been exercised to bring about economies in the regular functions of the Department.

During the past year the defense activities have seemingly overwhelmed the normal work of the Department. That is because the emphasis has been placed thereon. The fact remains, nevertheless,

1

1943

that the regular work of the Department has also had a marked increase since there are more laws to be enforced and legal problems of the Government have grown apace with the enlargement of Government activities.

An instance of that is the increased activities under the foreign agent registration law. That is now in the process of amendment, and we expect to get more indictments under the registration act. That really very effective in catching alien propagandists in this

country.

It is very difficult to draw a sharp line and divide the functions of the Department as between defense and regular activities. Very often they are so intermingled that it is very difficult to evaluate the relative amounts of time and energy devoted to various activities. Consequently we have to view the activities of the Department in one large perspective.

An example of that is the increased activity in investigating persons coming into the new war activities. It is very hard to say whether any particular employee should be allowed to go into a war activity. I do not think the public generally realizes the immense amount of work of purely an investigative character that goes along with the normal functions, and the immense amount of investigative work which comes from charges against alleged Reds in the Government on account of information which comes from all sources. We investigate every complaint that comes in; anything that looks like a real reason for complaint against a man we run down.

When the estimates before you were determined, no consideration was given to the outbreak of hostilities. The minute this happened extra burdens were thrown upon the Department so that the picture now has changed considerably and with it the basis for the estimates before you. No doubt many of the estimates will have to be revised before the new fiscal year begins.

PROBLEMS OF IDENTIFICATION AND TREATMENT OF ALIEN ENEMIES

An example of the revisions which we have not been able to include in the Budget is in connection with the amount for the identification of enemy aliens. A week ago it seemed wise to send somebody to the Ninth Army Corps Area to talk to General DeWitt about what his problems were, in view of the large Japanese population on the Pacific coast. As the result of conferences we have determined to identify all of the aliens in that area, of which there are approximately 135,000, a large number Japanese. They are the ones we are really concerned with, although most of them are pretty loyal. But we have to watch them.

We have already issued orders as the result of which we have taken away firearms, short-wave radio sets, and cameras.

We now have set up quite a large organization, based on the last World War organization, to give them travel permits and identification cards, not only for our protection, but for their own protection. We find there is naturally a good deal of hostility out there toward those people, and some violations.

Mr. RABAUT. What area are you referring to?

Mr. BIDDLE. The Ninth Corps Area of the Army, which covers 7 States in the West. Washington, Oregon, and California are the States where there is the most serious situation.

That is an example of a thing that comes up very quickly. So I got an amount from the President's revolving fund to start it going immediately until we could put in an estimate for appropriations for general identification of aliens throughout the whole country. That was one of those things on which you have to make a pretty quick decision. We had to put this program in effect within 2 weeks.

I might say in passing there are approximately about 1,100,000 Germans, Japanese, and Italian aliens in this country. Many of them are men who have been here for 30 or 40 years, who could not pass the literacy test, and we consider them aliens only in a technical sense. Toscanini was very much disturbed when he found he might be classified as an enemy alien.

Perhaps your committee will wish to consider these changes while this bill is before you since the problems are already with us and will continue through the next fiscal year.

We have already received supplementals for this year and others are now in the course of preparation for submission in the next deficiency bill. If these additional sums are allowed then the increase for next year will not be as large as I have indicated.

Our policy with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as you already know, is trying to divide the regular estimate from the special war and defense estimates, and I think it has been following your judgment in the past that we have not put in anything which, even on paper, has the appearance of a permanent organization which should not be permanent. The F. B. I. would normally expand, and then would normally shrink, it seems to me, after the defense situation is over. Mr. RABAUT. Alien registration was begun in this country after war was officially declared in Europe?

Mr. BIDDLE. Yes.

Mr. RABAUT. Do you think for that reason there was any farsighted attempt on the part of some of those who were very antiU. S. A. to avoid registration?

Mr. BIDDLE. It is very hard to tell.

Mr. RABAUT. Has much been discovered?

Mr. BIDDLE. I think not a great deal. I think there have been about 100 criminal cases against those who have not registered, but most of the cases are those of ignorant people who do not know much about it. One curious thing is that a great many criminals and persons who were here illegally were registered and we picked them up. We expected just the opposite situation. The facts and information obtained in the registration developed a great many such cases. But in answer to your question I would say no, although it is pretty hard to tell. We have a force of 100 men constantly running down those records. We registered about 5,000,000 aliens.

Mr. RABAUT. That was paid for from what fund?

Mr. BIDDLE. It was the special inspection fund.

Mr. CARTER. Who are the 100 men you are speaking about?

Mr. BIDDLE. That is the Special Inspection Unit. They went into the records.

Mr. RABAUT. Are they doing a good job?

Mr. BIDDLE. I would say they are. It takes a good while to train them.

Mr. RABAUT. So far as the literacy test is concerned, your predecessor agreed with me about that, that literacy has nothing to do with a person's downright devotion to his country.